A man, a camera and a need to create

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Working with Edwood

I had hoped to capture a dramatic sky at sunrise on my morning walk but it was dull and void of interest, the light was flat and perhaps I was too. The recent spate of hot days have sapped my focus and the strong North winds make the outdoors unpleasant.

Then there are the fires nearby today. I can see and smell the smoke from my window and I’m hoping that it gets no closer. One was headed directly towards us but a wind change turned it away.

I decided that I would do some lighting experiments with my assistant Edwood. (By experiments, I mean mucking around to keep my mind off things…)

The lighting is basic. Manual flash powered down to 1/16 power with small diffuser, about arms length from the subject. Camera less than a hand’s span away. 1/60 sec shutter with apertures between f16 and f22. Edwood was posed on a post that let me light from beneath for some drama.

These small scale lighting set-ups can be scaled up and are a good way to learn the limits of equipment and to understand the quality and direction of light.